This Can't Be Right
by FullOfSoundAndFury
Summary: Honestly, all he meant to do was cheat at capture-the-flag. It wasn't like Nico wanted to end up fighting a battle in a world he didn't even belong in. Rating T for possible violence in later chapters. Harry/Ginny, possibly implied Percabeth. No Nico/OC.
1. Chapter 1: Where Am I?

_Things are found most often, right after you stop looking._

Nico was finally ready to admit it. He was lost, and had been for an hour. He leaned against a tree, rubbing his eyes and groaning. Why did Chiron have to pair him with Percy? Why did they even have to start this stupid amped up scavenger hunt anyways? Something rustled and he brought his hand to his side where his stygian iron sword was sheathed. He paused, not even daring to breathe. A twig snapped, somewhere off to his right, and with the hiss of metal sliding against metal, he drew the wicked blade.

You know how in the horror films, the victim always calls out, "Who's there?", right before the bad guy jumps them and they die a brutal death? That was exactly the kind of scene he was trying to avoid. He crept around the tree and saw… nothing.

He was beginning to think that he had imagined it, when the hairs stood up on the back of his neck and he turned around in time to see a giant bird like, thing coming towards him, fangs bared, claws aimed for his heart. He managed to move out of the way just enough for it to miss, scoring a deep cut down his arm with its razor sharp talons. Luckily, it was his left arm. Not-so-luckily, his arm went limp, a red tinge forming around his vision. Nico hissed in pain and shook it off, diving out of the way of another aerial attack. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, chasing away the pain, and he brought up his sword, lashing out at the monster. He hit it, barely. It squawked angrily and made a dive for his head.

Nico swiped several more times, but it kept dodging. One random thought made its way through his mind. A bird wouldn't step on, and break, a twig. Before he could ponder this further, an attack made it perilously close to his left eye. He stumbled backwards, and ran into a tree. Not good. On one side there was a ravine, on the other there was a boulder. Funny, he didn't think he had moved that much. Today was full of surprises.

He raised his sword defensively and prepared for it to swoop, when a big black mass of fur jumped out and tackled the bird creature. Nico just stood there, holding a sword, mouth agape, as Percy climbed down from Mrs. O' Leary.

"Not such a bad partner now, am I?" Percy asked teasingly. Nico put his sword down and rolled his eyes.

"I never said you were." Nico replied innocently. Then he added under his breath, "I may have thought it though." If Percy heard that, he didn't respond, and since Percy isn't that tactful, we must assume that he didn't hear it. Instead he took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it, squinting to make out the ancient greek letters.

"So now that's over, we need to get an apple." Percy read off of the list. Nico snorted.

"Seriously? If it's that easy can't we just sneak into the kitchen and…" He trailed off. Percy looked at him.

"If you decide to take a trip, I had no way of stopping you." Percy said meaningfully. Nico smiled and let himself be pulled into the shadows. The kitchens were empty. Everyone was in the forest after all. Nico crept up and grabbed an apple out of one of the crates and shadow traveled back. Well he tried to. About halfway there, it felt like someone snatched him up and tossed him away, and he was falling like a meteor towards the earth, still in complete soul-sucking darkness. He was fine with the darkness, but the falling, not so much. Color and light returned with a vengeance, leaving him blinking and momentarily blind. He heard voices murmuring in excitement and… fear?

The first thing he saw, was the apple he was holding. He was standing, amazingly enough, in a large room, that was actually quite dimly lit. Nico blinked and looked around.

"We're not in Kansas anymore." Nico muttered under his breath.


	2. Chapter 2: You Have Got to be Kidding Me

Friends wait for you to come home.

Best friends are out there looking.

Nico stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express. Going back a week, this was NOT where he'd pictured himself to be. Running from a many headed monster, summoning the dead, or even playing a practical joke maybe, not this. Never in his wildest fears would he have pictured himself going to school.

A week previously…

"Silence." A cold voice called out over the babbling. A previously seated figure rose into the torchlight. He was oddly pale with, Nico had to restrain a snort, no nose.

"And you would be?" Nico asked, his hand drifting closer to the hilt of his sword.

"I am your Lord and Master." The voice proclaimed. Nico blinked. So it was also a megalomaniac monster. Well it was British. (No offence to British people, It's Nico's opinion, not ours.)

"Okaaay. Would you mind telling me how I got here?" He asked, shuffling his feet and tossing the apple in the air and catching it.

"The dark lord summoned you of course." Spoke up a dark haired woman who looked, in Nico's opinion, more than slightly psycho. That would explain how he got pulled out in the middle of shadow traveling, but not why.

"Why did you do that?" Nico asked, still tossing the apple. He couldn't sit still, especially while surrounded by people who might or might not want to kill him. The tall, pale, nose-less, man pulled out a stick and shot a bolt of green light into the apple, and it fell back into Nico's hands as dust. He wiped his hands on his jacket and looked up directly at the man.

"Because child." He hissed, "There is war coming, and you are going to help me win it."

* * *

><p>Back at camp half blood…<p>

Percy was trekking grumpily back to dinner. Nico hadn't come back, and they'd lost the scavenger hunt. But, as the dining pavilion filled up and Nico was still nowhere to be seen, Percy started to get worried. He hadn't gotten lost had he? He walked over to the Persephone table and the two girls that were sitting at it.

"Have you seen Nico?" He asked the elder of the two, who was still only ten or eleven. She rolled her eyes.

"What, am I his nanny? You know death boy, he'll wander off, then come back when he gets hungry." She replied, shrugging.

"Not this time." The littler of the two said gravely. No one usually paid her much attention, she wasn't quite right in the head, but Percy turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?" He asked. She looked up at him.

"They tore the veil, and Nico fell through." She said solemnly, then she giggled, "Neither can live while the other survives."

"Just ignore it." The eldest waved off, "She's been rambling about veils all day." With a sinking feeling, Percy returned to his table and sat down. Nico would come back, wouldn't he?

* * *

><p>"Imperio." A jet of light shot out and hit Nico before he could react. He sank into blissful oblivion, his troubles melting away. He felt like he was floating above all that nonsense. Then, like a bubble had been popped, he came crashing down to earth and emotion, misery, and rage flooded back into his mind.<p>

He blinked, and he was kneeling in front of the man. This made him angry. Born into a society where not revering gods got you killed, it still made him angry. He straightened up, and the people in the room started muttering. He looked at the man, and looked into his eyes. For the first time, he saw a spark of worry that was quickly overcome by greed.

"My dear boy, we seem to have got off on the wrong foot. Would you mind telling me your name?" He crooned to Nico, like he was a small child.

"Nico DiAngelo." Nico replied, waiting for a reaction. Any monster from the underworld would fear his name, and a good many others would have at least heard of him. He saw no recognition.

"What's your name?" Nico questioned, feeling unease growing in his stomach.

"I am Lord Voldemort." The man replied proudly. Seriously, Lord Voldemort? Full of himself much? This time Nico couldn't contain a snort, and everyone in the room turned to stare at him in amazement.

"Okay, Lord Voldemort, tell me this, where am I?" Nico asked.

"London." Lord Voldemort replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. London? Had he really been pulled that far off track?

"Now tell me Nico DiAngelo, have you heard of a boy called Harry Potter." The man asked, and the other people fell silent.

"Why?" Nico asked, unease turning to dread.

"Because you're going to help me kill him."

* * *

><p>Chiron was in his office, when with a flash of gold light, Hermes appeared.<p>

"Greetings." He said formally.

"No time horse man." Hermes said quickly, "The veil in between this world, and the wizarding word has disintegrated."

"How did this happen?" Chiron asked.

"A camper got pulled through. The son of Hades."

"We'll have to keep this quiet. We can't have the two worlds mixing any more than necessary."

Percy stood agape by the door, hand raised, about to knock. He heard hoof clopping and freaking out, turned and ran. His suspicions had been right. There was something wrong with Nico.

* * *

><p>"Uh. Why?" Nico repeated the question, edging towards the shadows. Now that he thought about it, there definitely was a bad guy vibe coming off of these people. It actually reminded him a bit of the time he got sent back in time to Nazi Germany. That's another story though. His arm gave a dull throb, reminding him for the first time that he had been injured. Blood was starting to seep through his jacket. He had to get out of here.<p>

"Why?, Because-" The man paused, and tilted his head as if listening. Then, the world erupted into color and explosions and Nico was knocked unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3: Rescued

Home is where the heart is.

Nico experienced a sense of De Ja Vu as he awoke.(Any French Speaker know how to spell this?) He opened his eyes and everything was blurry, and loud. He shook his head, and things fell into place, but still didn't make much sense. He was lying in a bed, in a bedroom that looked like it was old, but had once been splendid. It reminded Nico a bit of his father's palace, but he hoped the food tasted better, he was starving. That brought up the question of, where was he? What had happened after he blacked out, why had he blacked out? If he wanted answers, he needed to find someone to ask.

He tried to prop himself up, only to discover that his arm was numb. The one that the monster had clawed. The upper part of his left arm was covered in bandages. Okay, so who ever had him now, probably didn't want to kill him, or they would have while he was asleep. Swinging his feet over the edge, he stood up, and stumbled over to the wall, where he tried to fade into the shadows. He was tired, but he just might make it to camp before passing out. He ran into a solid wall of energy that was blocking him. If he had more energy, he might be able to pass it, but not in this state. He became aware that he wasn't wearing his skull shirt, instead it was a strange, rough textured shirt that was about a size too big for him.

Looking around in panic, he spotted his aviator's jacket lying on the ground. He'd probably knocked it off the bed as he got up. Retrieving it, he put it on, with slight difficulty, seeing as he couldn't use one arm. Someone had mended the tear in the jacket. Very nice of them, he thought, not completely sarcastically. He opened the door and stepped out onto… a landing? Below him on the staircase, was a woman with purple hair. Nico blinked, not sure if he was seeing correctly. She looked up at him, and disappeared back into the door behind her. Okaaay.

Nico took a moment to examine the interior. It was nice looking, if kind of dusty. The house felt, oddly enough, like home. Of course, coming from him, that wasn't a good thing. He would swear that the pictures were watching him though. He must have hit his head.

A woman with bright red hair swept out of the kitchen, and Nico felt immediately wary. She had an aura like a mother hen. He didn't really have any good experiences with maternal figures. He knew it was stupid, but his step mother and her mom weren't the nicest of people, though they had been slightly nicer since the Titan War.

"You're supposed to stay in bed." She scolded him, walking up the stairs.

"Who- Who are you?" Nico asked in bewilderment. Her expression softened slightly.

"I'm Molly Weasley, and don't worry, you're safe now." She reassured him. It didn't help, most monsters conveniently forgot to mention the fact that they were monsters until they killed you. He turned around to see two teenage boys who looked like twins walking down the stairs. They paused when they saw him.

"Mum, who the bloody hell is this?" The one of the redheaded twins asked.

"I'm Nico DiAngelo." Nico answered warily. The other one looked at him, reminding him eerily of the Stoll brothers. He elbowed his twin.

"Fred, that's the boy they brought in yesterday." He said. Fred looked at him again.

"I guess he is. Couldn't tell now that he's actually awake." The twin who must have been Fred conceded. Now that Nico thought about it, they all had British accents. He must still be in England. If it took him that long to figure it out, he must have hit his head.

"Now that you're feeling well you can come downstairs for a proper meal. You look like you haven't had one in ages." She offered, or rather commanded. Mother hen? That was an understatement. Nico meekly trailed downstairs after the twins and was lead to the kitchen by Mrs. Weasley. As he entered, talking died down. It was mostly adults and teenagers. He felt an instinctual desire to blend into the shadows, but shrugged it off. He sat down next to a dark haired boy who looked about fifteen and restrained a gasp as the aura of death hit him. The boy hissed and rubbed a jagged scar on his forehead. A large bowl of stew was plopped on the table in front of him, and his mouth watered, but he looked suspiciously at it. A ragged looking man smiled at him from across the table.

"Don't worry Molly is an excellent cook." He assured Nico, and when Nico still didn't eat it, he added, "And it's not poisoned." Choosing to believe that was the truth, also partially swayed by his stomach, he took a sip. It was good stew. But there was something about the man. Something, faintly monster-like. It wasn't I'm-gonna-kill-you, more like Tyson, the friendly Cyclops.

"I'm Remus Lupin." He offered. Nico swallowed his mouthful of stew.

"Nico DiAngelo." He replied.

"That's an interesting name." A gaunt looking man replied, sitting next to Remus, "It short for something?" Nico's mouth was already full again, so he just shook his head.

"Where are you from?" A bushy haired girl asked, sitting next to him. He was beginning to get a bit uncomfortable with all these questions.

"Los Angelos." He said shortly. They looked confused, "California." They still looked confused, "America."

"Oh." They said in unison.

"So, did the death eaters kidnap you or what?" The boy next to him asked. Nico almost spit out his stew. He swallowed and cleared his through, keeping himself from laughing.

"Death eaters?" He asked incredulously, "That's really what they're called?" The boy and girl looked miffed, but the two adults shared a smiled.

"I take it you have no idea who they are then?" Remus asked. Nico shook his head.

"They kept going on about a war though. And trying to kill someone called Harry Potter." They all grew silent.

"I take it you're Harry Potter." Nico guessed, turning to the boy next to him.

"You mean you don't know him?" The girl asked incredulously.

"No, Hermione, it's nice to talk to someone who doesn't think I'm off my rocker." Harry said, and Hermione quieted. The whole dining table grew still as the shadows twisted to form a familiar young girl. She looked around.

"Bad time, prince?" She asked, seeing the room full of people. Nico rolled his eyes. The girl snapped loudly, and people resumed talking as if she hadn't appeared. To them of course, she hadn't.

"I have to go to the restroom." Nico muttered, standing up.

"It's that way down the hall two doors." Harry offered. Nico muttered a quick thanks, before walking quickly out of sight. The girl had followed him.

"What are you doing here?" Nico demanded.


	4. Chapter 4: Almost Like Family

"What do you mean, what am I doing here, what are you doing here?" She spoke so quickly, Nico could barely understand her.

"Don't pin this one on me, did my father send you?" Nico whispered back.

"Yes, if you haven't noticed, you're kind of in the wrong world." She pointed out. Nico rolled his eyes.

"No." He said sarcastically, "I want to be here." Now she rolled her eyes.

"This isn't funny my Prince. To put it plainly, You are stuck." She said, enounciating the last three words.

"What do you mean stuck? Can't you just shadow travel me away from here?" He demanded. Their whispers were growing louder.

"No, that's what I'm trying to tell you, there's a-" She was cut off as an old man appeared in front of them.

"Why Hello." He said kindly to Nico, "Might you be Nico DiAngelo?"

"I would be." Nico replied suspiciously.

"And who would your friend here be?" He asked. Nico blinked surprisedly. He could see Jenny? She was invisible to most. He would know, he'd been accused many times of talking to himself.

"She's my- my cousin." Nico said thinking of an excuse. Actually, she was a minor goddess of the underworld, bound by his father to serve him, but he didn't think that would go over real well here.

"On your father's side?" He asked. Nico swallowed. How did he know?

"Yeah." Well that was kind of the truth.

"Ah. Well, your father's family has called and assured me that there are no hard feelings for your… entrance into our world." He said, then he looked at Jenny.

"I would like you to take a message back to his father, requesting permission for him to stay and help with some… affairs of our world." He addressed her. She looked at Nico, and he nodded, so she sank into the shadows.

"Quite a cousin you have there." The old man commented.

"I still don't know who you are." Nico countered. The man smiled.

"I'm Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Isn't anything named normally here?" Nico asked in exasperation . Dumbledore chose to ignore that comment, instead changing the subject.

"If your father allows it, I would like for you to protect young Harry Potter." He said.

"This house is full of people, why can't they do it?" Nico protested, "Plus, I don't even know how to do the light-shooting thing." Dumbledore chuckled.

"I take it that you mean magic. Attending my school would also give you a chance to learn some spells. You would be eleven if I'm correct?" He asked.

"I'm almost thirteen." Nico muttered. He wasn't that small, was he?

"My apologies, Mr. DiAngelo." Dumbledore replied. Jenny stepped out of the shadows.

"His exact words were, and I quote 'Do I have any other choice?" She announced.

"Excellent, Mr. DiAngelo, what is your answer."

"I guess." Nico replied, "On one condition. You tell me who this Lord Voldemort is, and why he wants to kill Harry."

"It's too long a story to tell as of the moment, but I promise you will find out at some point." Dumbledore sighed. Jenny disappeared again, and Nico and Dumbledore walked over to the kitchen. They seemed slightly shocked to see Nico with Dumbledore, but Harry and Hermione shot Dumbledore questioning looks, which he waved away.

Apparently, the meal was dinner, because afterwards, Mrs. Weasley sent them up to bed. Nico was sharing with Harry and another of the redheaded gaggle, Ron. Nico entered the room to see a third bed in the room, along with a trunk, on top of which there was one of those sticks that shot light, and a letter. He picked up and opened the letter.

Dear Nico,

Here's what's on the school list for a second year attendee of Hogwarts. The stick thing is a wand, which is required for most classes.

There was no signature, but there was a camp photo, even including the satyrs and a bunch of disgruntled looking hunters. Sighing, he fell into bed. It would be a long school year away from his semblance of a home.

* * *

><p>Harry waited till he was sure Nico was asleep.<p>

"Ron." He whispered.

"Yeah?" Ron replied. They both sat up.

"Could you check if he's asleep?" Harry asked Ron, who nodded and leaned over the younger boy. His breathing was slow and rhythmic.

"He's out." Ron confirmed, "Right then, what do you think 'bout him?"

"He seems kind of creepy, but Dumbledore trust him." Harry replied, "He makes my scar sting though."

"You don't think he's related to you know who do you?" Ron asked fearfully. They heard rustling fabric and looked over at Nico as he turned over.

"No, Bianca, don't go." He muttered in his sleep. The two older boys exchanged glances and shrugged.

"I could be. We'll have to ask Hermione about it in the morning." Harry said. They both lay back down and Harry drifted off to sleep. It felt like he'd only been asleep for several seconds when something, or rather, someone, landed on his bed.

* * *

><p>"Go 'way 'ercy." Nico murmured sleepily as Ron tried to shake him awake.<p>

"Percy?" Ron mouthed to Harry, and he shrugged.

"Nico, it's time for breakfast." He shook the younger boy, who lashed out, still half asleep, punching Ron in the jaw.

"Ow!" Ron exclaimed pulling back, and holding his jaw. Fred and George apparated into the room and poured a glass full of pumpkin juice onto his head. Nico sat up and opened his eyes. His first thought, was that the Stoll brothers were going to pay. His second though was 'Where in Hades am I!". His third thought, was recognition.

"Oh, it's you two." He dismissed, and he looked at Ron rubbing his jaw, "Sorry, reflexes."

"It's getting better," Ron sighed dramatically.

"You punched Ickle-Ronniekins?" One of the twins asked, impressed.

"Very nice." The other one added. A question popped into Nico's mind.

"When does Hogwarts start?" He asked.

"Train leaves tomorrow." One of the twins replied, "Say, do you want sweets?"

"No." Ron and Harry said at the same time. Nico blinked in confusion, getting the feeling that he missed something.

"Breakfast!" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen, and all the redheaded boys scrambled out the door and downstairs, followed by Harry. Nico headed to the bathroom to clean up, then cracked a smile. He imagined this is almost what it would feel like to have family.


	5. Chapter 5: Kidnapped, Or am I?

After drying his hair and walking out onto the landing, he immediately got the feeling that someone was watching him. He paused a moment, then shook it off. This house must finally be getting to him. He walked down the flights of stairs, and was at the landing, when he saw the ugliest little creature looking at him. It looked like a hairless, wrinkled, monkey, with the ears of a Chihuahua. He jumped back, yelping and it stared up at him eerily. It didn't look like a monster, but it still creeped him out.

"Don't mind Kreature." One of the twins said from the kitchen doorway, "Any hurry up, or the food will all be cold." Nico made a wide circle around the thing, and was walking into the kitchen, when it struck him. He still didn't know where he was. He knew what he had to do, and he was pretty sure he was safe, but he had no idea where in England he was.

"Everything alright?" Harry, asked, noticing him pause.

"Yeah, it's just, well, where are we?" Nico asked. Harry and Ron shared a worried glance.

"This is the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix." The gaunt man said, seeming to disturb some members at the table. Nico still didn't know the man's name. A phoenix? Like, those birds that lived in the Hestia Cabin and always pooped on him? Apparently, this meant something important though.

"So, it's like, and order against Voldemort?" Nico guessed. Everyone in the room flinched when they heard the name, everyone except Harry. Alright, he said to himself, Names have power even in this society.

"Pretty much." The twins chorused.

"So, he's evil, and doesn't like Harry." Nico confirmed.

"Yeah." Ron answered, seeming confused that Nico didn't already know that.

"Okay." Nico answered simply. He was used to this. His father, or one of the other gods gave him an order, and it was his job to carry it through. This at least, was familiar territory. He sat down, "Could you pass the toast?"

* * *

><p>Percy paced his cabin. What should he do? Should he ask Chiron, and risk exposing the fact that he'd been eavesdropping? Or just wait and hope that he'd heard wrong? Annabeth would know what to do, but she was on Olympus designing the food court. Rachel was at finishing school, and Grover was off saving some forest in Colorado. Maybe he could ask Thalia? No, she was probably taking care of hunter duties, tracking a deer or something.<p>

"Percy." Chiron was standing at his cabin door, and Percy jumped.

"Yes?" He responded, his voice an octave higher than usual, making him wince.

"I need to talk to you about Nico." Chiron said, and butterflies started doing nervous flips in Percy's stomach.

"There something wrong with him?" Percy asked nervously.

"No, of course not, well, not yet." Chiron assured him, "Nico is just off on a quest, and it is possible that he might need back up. If that is the case, I expect you to be ready."

"Can do." Percy replied with relief. Nico wasn't in any immediate danger, well that was a relief. He had promised Bianca to keep him safe. "Wherever Nico is, can we Iris message him?" Chiron paused.

"If you're discreet about it." He finally replied, walking away. What did that mean? Percy wondered.

* * *

><p>A day later at Kings Cross station…<p>

Six teenagers pushing loaded luggage carts were pushing their way through the crowd as they headed for platform 9 and three quarters.

"So, we just walk into the brick?" Nico asked. Who was he to doubt, the entrance to his home was hidden behind the Hollywood sign (1). Doubtfully, he pushed the cart into the brick, and then walked forwards himself. He was standing on a crowded platform, with a black and red train just in front of him.

"No way." He gasped. Then he was swept along in the crowd of people. Student's climbing aboard the train, parents bidding their children farewell. Nico felt a spark of amusement as he imagined his father standing on the platform, or his step mother. Now that, was truly terrifying. He picked up his trunk and climbed aboard. If only he could find an empty compartment… Bingo. He swung his suitcase, or trunk, or whatever they called it here, up onto the luggage rack and sat down. Moments later, a blonde head poked through.

"Mind if we join you?" A dreamy sounding voice asked.

"Can I say no?" Nico asked grumpily. Great, company. He could practically hear his friends scolding him to "be nice", and "make friends". He even remembered Annabeth's speech after the time he set the dining pavilion on fire. One of the times anyways.

"Just because you're a child of Hades, doesn't mean you can go around acting like a sociopathic jerk!" After he'd asked Chiron what Sociopathic meant, he sulked in his cabin for a day, until Percy pulled him out, and made him go to a chariot race. Then- Okay, we're getting off topic here. Anyways, he resolved to be nicer, a little nicer at least, to people in general. The girl was followed by a redheaded girl, and a nervous looking boy.

"Are you new?" The boy asked, sitting down.

"Yeah, a transfer student from America." Nico replied shortly, then the words 'sociopathic jerk' echoed in his head and he winced.

"My name's Nico." He offered.

"I'm Luna." The lost looking girl replied.

"I'm Ginny." The redheaded girl replied, "Say, haven't I seen you somewhere?" Right, she must have been one of the Weasley bunch who were staying at the Order's headquarters.

"I'm Neville Longbottom." Neville held out his hand and Nico shook it. Harry opened the door.

"Hey, can I sit here? Oh, hello Nico." Harry greeted him, sitting down. Harry still felt like he shouldn't exist, but now Nico saw that most of it was coming from the oddly shaped scar on hos forehead. Ah well, he'd ponder that later. He was going to catch up on his sleep. He settled back in his seat and closed his eyes, drifting off into dreamland. He had a bizarre dream. He was sitting in room with a fireplace, in an old dusty chair. Across from him, was Lord Voldemort, as pale and nose-less as ever. Now that he wasn't in post-shadow-travel-abduction-shock, he noted that Voldemort had that same sense of wrongness as Harry did. He didn't recognize it immediately, because it didn't feel like Daedalus, or even exactly like Harry. It felt… fragmented, like there was only a tiny piece of a person sitting in front of him…

"Hello young Nico." Voldemort greeted.

"What am I doing here?" Nico demanded. Really, he was sick of being kidnapped. And how did the creepy man-like-creature even know his name?

"You are here because I wish to offer you a deal." Voldemort replied, a snake slithering over his shoulder and flicking it's tongue at Nico.

* * *

><p>(1)- I know it's from the movie, and I rather dislike the movie, but it makes such a good comparison, and I figure, there could be an entrance there.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: Crossing the Barrier

Nico was pulled out of his dream when a thick, gooey, smelly substance plastered him. He blinked open his eyes to see that the compartment was full of it. It looked like the majority of it was covering him though. He assumed it came from a smile grey cactus thing that Neville was holding, plants hated him. He relaxed, and felt his heart rate decrease as he came off the adrenaline rush. The door opened and a teenage looking, pretty Asian looking girl peered in.

"Oh... Hello harry, um, bad time?" She asked, blushing.

"Oh. Hi." Harry said, sounding very much like an idiot. Even well, Nico, could see that the poor teen was falling hard.

"Well, just thought I'd say hello. Bye then." She hurriedly shut the door. Harry sighed and slumped in his seat. Nico could see the Aphrodite trying to work her magic here. Trying and failing. Poor Harry, but the kid was really better off.

"This stuff isn't poisonous is it?" Nico asked doubtfully, wiping it off his face.

"No, of course not." Neville reassured him.

"Scourgify." Hermione muttered, flicking her wand, and most of the ooze vanished. Not wanting to re enter his weird dream, Nico stared out the window. They started chatting about something that Nico had no interest in. Staring out the window was making him fidgety though, so he retrieved a book in ancient Greek from his suitcase and started to read. It was a copy of "Anne Frank" from the store of translated books that the Athena cabin had. Annabeth had lent it to him a while ago.

A lady pushing a cart full of food walked by and Harry stepped out to buy some. Curious if train snacks were any different here, Nico followed him. He had a little gold, there had been a pouch with some weird gold coins in it in his trunk. He asked Harry what the money meant, and with an odd look, Harry explained it to him. He bought some of the foods that didn't look too strange, and headed back inside the compartment. Nico pretended he didn't see the inquisitive and suspicious looks he got from Harry. Instead, he focused on the food. The chocolate frogs looked good, but when he opened one and bit in, he noticed that they contained trading cards. That stirred painful memories, virtually erasing his appetite. He set the candy down and swallowed, looking out the window. He pretended he didn't see the others exchange glances in the reflection. An awkward hour passed, in which Nico fidgeted, and fought falling asleep. He read, and Harry tried to sneak a glance at what he was reading, much to Nico's annoyance.

"You want to ask me something or what?" Nico finally blurted out as Harry tried to 'inconspicuously' read over his shoulder for what must have been the billionth time.

"No, nothing." Harry settled back into his seat, looking slightly guilty, reminding Nico of his cousin. He rolled his eyes and continued reading. He was started for the second time that day, and counting, as the door slammed open and Ron and Hermione swept in. They didn't seem to notice Nico, something that happened frequently to him. Ron stowed his luggage and plopped down into the seat next to Harry, grabbing a chocolate frog and closing his eyes. Hermione took her seat.

"Well, there are two fifth year prefects from each house," Said Hermione, "Boy and girl from each." Fifth year, and what did the letter say again… right, he'll be in second year. This annoyed him, but what annoyed him more, was the fact that no one questioned it. So Percy teasing him about spending so much time in the underworld stunting his growth had some merit. They started talking about who became prefect for what house and such, and Nico went back to reading.

Ron's Point of View

He was talking to Harry, when he noticed the small, creepy boy sitting in front of him, reading a book in a strange language.

"Oi! Harry, why'd you let him in?" Ron exclaimed. Nico rolled his eyes and turned a page. Ginny giggled.

"Nice tact Ronald." She said sarcastically.

"He was here first." Harry replied truthfully.

"Oh." Ron blushed in embarrassment and turned to Nico, not looking directly at him, "Sorry mate, didn't mean to be rude."

"I'm used to it." Nico deadpanned, turning a page.

"What are you reading?" Hermione asked, hoping to break the awkward silence that followed.

"A book." Nico replied. Hermione decided to leave him alone after that and conversation resumed.

* * *

><p>It was a torturously long train ride, and another hour in, he drifted off into sleep. Voldemort was waiting.<p>

"Hello again." Voldemort greeted, his voice scraping Nico's ears, "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted, I am offering you a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Nico asked suspiciously. Voldemort smiled, pleased that they were getting somewhere.

"A simple one. I am offering you power, prestige, a chance to rule that world at my side. You can be respected, instead of treated as an outcast. All you have to do, is bring me Harry Potter." He offered, even extending a thin, bony hand. Under any normal circumstances he would have slapped his hand away. But the words seemed just so reasonable… A chance to rule. Not to be treated like an outcast and a freak…

"Nico, Nico we're almost at Hogwarts, you have to change." Someone was shaking his shoulder. He blinked and saw that it was Ginny.

"Kay." He rasped, sitting up, stumbling to his feet, and pulling his trunk down. He pulled out the robes, which at least were black, and headed to the bathroom to change. All in all, the robes weren't so bad, there were plenty of places to hide knives and such. On the way back though, he literally ran into a blond boy about the same age as Harry and his friends.

"Watch where you're going shrimp, or I might have to give you detention." He sneered, his two goons grinning stupidly on either side of him. Control yourself Nico. He took a deep breath, and despite of the anger bubbling up, he walked by silently. One of the goons grabbed his shoulder and then the next thing anyone else saw, there was a cracking sound, and the goon was clutching his arm and howling in pain. Anger satisfied, momentarily at least, Nico walked back to the compartment with his normal smooth, quick gait, not stiff and slow with repressed anger. He slid open the door, stepped in, and sat down. The train began to slow.

"Thanks for waking me up." Nico said to the redhead girl, almost smiling. She blushed and mumbled something. Tactful for once in his life, Nico didn't ask for her to repeat it. The train stopped, and they all made their way to the exit, Nico trailing behind them cautiously. He stepped onto the platform to see a great castle rising out of the distance. It was huge, even bigger than his father's palace.

"Impressive isn't it?" Nico didn't need to turn around to know it was Harry behind him.

"Yeah." Nico admitted.

"Come on, we have to get to the carriages." Harry nudged the younger boy into the flood of people heading in that direction. Nico pushed his way out of the crowd, and into the first carriage he saw, one with three girls about his age, in green sitting in it. Seeing as his other option was to sit with Harry and company, he stepped into the carriage and sat down.

"What house are you in?" One of them asked.

"I'm new. Exchange student." Nico answered abruptly, now wishing he'd chosen a different compartment.

"Well than what house do you want to be in?" Another of them asked logically.

"What are my options?" Nico asked sighing, resigned to conversation.

"Why are we even talking to you?" The first one sneered. So don't', Nico wanted to reply.

"It's okay Sophia." The second girl reassured her before turning back to Nico, "Well, there's Slytherin, the house for the cunning, quick witted and ambitious. That's where we're from. There's Gryffindor, which is supposedly for the brave but they're all just stupid oafs. There's Ravenclaw, where all the smart kids go. Then there's Hufflepuff, for the loyal, and anyone else who doesn't fit in."

"In that case I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff." Nico mused, sitting back as the carriage left the ground. He really should be scared, but since they were pulled by thestrals, he figured he was safe. Like Percy on a Pegasus. The first girl scoffed.

"I knew it, waste of time." She exclaimed, and was elbowed by the other two.

"Sorry for Sophia's rudeness." The second girl apologized, "I'm Rose, that's Vivi." The third girl gave a slight nod.

"Nico." He replied.

"What's your blood status?" The girl called Vivi asked. He'd heard something about that before.

"Half blood." He answered, figuring that wouldn't hurt much.

"Well, better than muggle born." She said, shrugging.

"Filthy mudbloods." Sophia spat.

"Watch your language." Rose scolded. Nico smiled slightly. They sounded like bickering children. They were bickering children, no older than him even. The thought made him lapse into silence as the three girls quarreled. Listen to him, he was already thinking with fancy words. This country was getting to him. He opened his mind, usually shut against protesting spirits, and felt the gentle murmuring of the thestrals pulling the carriages. They were passing through some kind of barrier that felt like a spider's web drawing him slowly closer and closer to the center. No one else seemed to notice it though, so he might just be overreacting. As they reached the other side of the barrier he felt a consciousness, ancient yet somehow familiar, brush his mind. Then the roaring sound of hundreds of ghosts overwhelmed him, like he was in the underworld, but worse, because he was without the natural advantage his bloodline gave him. The sounds were boring into his skull, begging, pleading, screaming, and he blacked out.


	7. Chapter 7: Poltergeists And Old Hats

Nico was running. It was dark, but he could see the stars, so he wasn't underground. There were people chasing him, shooting him with spells. Each time he barely managed to duck, and once he felt the sizzling energy send a creepy buzzing sensation through his skin, it passed so close to him. Even as he was panicking though, he was super-aware. It wasn't like his life was flashing before his eyes. That would just be even more depressing. Instead it was like this scene was a video and someone had it set to slow. He wanted to move faster, he just couldn't. It was like how Percy had described being under Kronos's time-bending powers. That is, until he tripped on a rock and went down, the ground slamming into him.

It seemed as if time caught up, that slamming into him too and pushing his breath out of his lungs. Sprawled on the ground and gasping, he crawled and tried to stand up, but pain shot through his ankle and he collapsed again. They were going to catch him. He had about given up, but like he was caught in a tornado, winds whipped about him. His surroundings dimmed, yet brightened at the same time , colors and light all blending together, and then reforming into a different scene.

Now Nico was in the underworld. The people chasing him were nowhere in sight. He was alone in the comforting shadows, the distant sound of screaming from the Fields of Punishment forming a kind of white-noise in the background. He let out a breath and relaxed as the pain faded out of focus and for the second time in minutes his surroundings blurred. This time it felt like he was the one disintegrating, rather than his surroundings.

Floating, there was a good word for it. Floating was good, painless even. He opened his eyes and everything was blurry and white. He blinked and the world slid a little more into focus. Experimentally, he lifted his arm, and found that it didn't hurt. A woman in an odd, flowing, robe-like garment walked over.

"You really shouldn't move Mr. DiAngelo." She said in an annoying matronly voice, "You've been unconscious for several days." Days? Days! Where the Tartarus was he anyways?! He sat up, and as he blinked at the light, instinctively raising a hand to cover his eyes, he remembered.

"I miss school?" Nico asked, his voice cracking slightly from disuse. His entire body felt numb and dry, with a buzz that must have been the lingering haze of magic.

"Only a few days." She replied, rushing over to him, "But I must insist that you rest, you suffered from some sort of seizure, the cause of which I have been unable to-"

"It's alright Poppy." A voice cut her off gently as a tall man with a long grey beard swept into the room. Nice timing, Nico thought suspiciously, then remembered. It was Professor Dumbledore, "Mr. DiAngelo here is tougher than you might think." You got that right, Nico fumed to himself as she glanced at him worriedly. Reluctantly, Poppy backed away and let him stand up. He found he could do so without searing pain, and was steady on his feet. His ankle felt strange though, the numbness was wearing off everywhere else but there. With a flourish, Dumbledore offered him a scrap of cloth, and taking it cautiously, Nico saw that it was a hat.

"Right… thanks?" Nico said awkwardly, taking it and examining it carefully. Dumbledore chuckled slightly.

"I forgot. This is the Hogwarts Sorting Hat. It will place you in your house." Dumbledore told him, with the air of one excited to see the outcome. Alright… Feeling slightly foolish, Nico placed the hat on his head and jumped a little when a voice rang in his mind.

"A little old to be sorted aren't you? No matter, no matter. "

"Who are you?" Nico interrupted it.

"I am the Hogwarts Sorting hat. Now back to business?" Wow, hat with attitude. "Your mind is quite different from what I'm used to, but you know that now don't you? Such power at such an age, you would do well in Slytherin."

"Yeah, no. I'm supposed to protect Harry, who isn't exactly fond of that house." Nico reminded it. The hat sighed melodramatically, "Well than if you must place such restrictions on me, GRYFFINDOR!" Nico took off the hat gingerly and handed it back to Dumbledore, glad to be rid of the creepy thing.

"That works out quite nicely." Dumbledore said, smiling. Nico narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly. Manipulative old man. "You have missed a few days of school, but I imagine that your teachers won't care, given the… circumstances. Also, you might find one, Miss Hermione Granger to be of assistance, should you need it." Dumbledore waved his wand, almost carelessly, and a piece of paper appeared, which he handed to Nico. He thought it was a schedule, but he couldn't be sure, the letters kept dancing around the page. Obviously Dumbledore didn't know everything about demigods.A small, rebellious part of his mind kept him from asking for a copy in Greek, trying not to look weak to this man. Maybe he could ask Hermione. Or a ghost, it was a castle after all, there had to be at least one. He tentatively opened his mind a crack and felt the screaming that made him black out. He gasped sharply and shut the noise out quickly. One ghost? Try hundreds! It would be like living in the freaking underworld, although hopefully with better food. At this rate, his cover could be in serious peril.

"What time is it?" Nico asked, trying to take his mind off of the whispering auras of all the undead.

"Most of the students are at dinner, so you may get settled in the dorm without… interference." Dumbledore answered, "For your… comfort, we have decided to assign you to a private room instead of one with the other Gryffindor second years." Well that was a plus, one of the things he hated about schools were the people. Also, if any ghosts decided to watch him while he was sleeping (happened more often than he'd like in the Underworld), it wouldn't cause awkward questions. Well at least he had a little info to go on now. Nico walked unsteadily, thanks to his still-numb ankle, to the door and pushed his way out.

"I can show you." Dumbledore offered. Nico turned his head.

"I'll find my way." He said confidently, stepping forward and letting the door swing shut. He walked for a ways, turned down enough hallways to make sure the old man wasn't following him, and stopped. He started an ancient Greek chant to summon nearby ghosts. Only a couple words in, one appeared in front of him, brighter and more colorful than most.

"Who are you?" Nico asked suspiciously, recognizing a poltergeist. Great, just what he needed.

"Peeves at your service." The poltergeist said in a weasely voice. Seriously, again with the bizarre British names?

"Peeves, can you lead me to the Gryffindor dormitory?" Nico asked in voice that made it a command.

"Yes my king." He replied with a low bow that was just mocking enough to annoy Nico. Peeves floated off, Nico following behind. After a couple of minutes, and a couple dozen flights of stairs, they reached a portrait of a rather chubby lady.

"Password?" She asked, making Nico's eyes widen. So the pictures' eyes really had been following him. That was a whole new level of creepy. This coming from a kid who spent an unhealthy amount of time in the underworld. Nico turned to Peeves.

"Don't look at me? Peeves-y isn't allowed to know." The spirit shrugged.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia" A voice came from the shadows. Peeves yelped and flew away as Jenny stepped out of the shadows. The portrait swung on a hinge, revealing a room decked in red and gold, "I bring a private message from your father." She said, pausing a minute to look around and ensure that there were no eavesdroppers. "Keep your cover intact at any cost. Especially from the professors."

"What am I supposed to tell them then?" Nico demanded, "Won't it be kind of obvious I'm not a wizard?"

"Will it?" Jenny asked, raising an eyebrow and giving Nico a look that he was very familiar with. He wasn't getting any more out of her then that.

"Is that it?" She turned back towards the shadow, then paused indecisively, turning her head to look at him over her shoulder, "Be careful Nico, things here are… not always what they seem. This place was forsaken by the gods for a reason."

"What-" but it was too late, she was already gone. Gods, would it hurt to stick around for a few minutes and give him a straight answer? The dramatic exits were getting old. Weren't there less cryptic servants that his father could have sent to babysit him?

"Are you going to stay and chat all day?" The portrait asked, her voice irritated. Nico climbed into the deserted room. It looked nice and warm and comfortable. Naturally it gave him the creeps. There were two staircases leading out of the common room. Picking one at random, he climbed it, only to land on his back when it turned into a someone was playing a joke on him, or that was the wrong staircase. He pulled himself to his feet and stepping gingerly up the other staircase, finding, to his relief that it didn't toss him down. He passed doors with labels that he didn't bother to try and read, until at the end, he found a door labeled Nico DiAngelo in Greek and what he assumed was also his name in English above it.

He carefully cracked open the door to see a small room. The walls were a bare grey stone, and the bed was a… what were they called again, four poster with black curtains. It wasn't homey, in fact, it was quite sparse. Nico didn't want homey, so it was perfect in its imperfection. His trunk was at the end of the bed, and he plopped himself down on it, not even bothering to wonder how it had gotten there. He heard the thumping of students returning from dinner, and his stomach growled. He stood up. Maybe he could shadow travel back to camp to get some food. Come to think of it, could he shadow travel out of this place?

Nico jumped as with a popping sound, a plate of sandwiches appeared on the nightstand. He looked at them suspiciously and picked one up. They were ham sandwiches. He didn't like ham, but he was too hungry to be picky (1). He crammed one in his mouth and swallowed, almost choking. He coughed, gagged, and swallowed, leaving his throat feeling a bit raw. More carefully, he took a bite out of the second sandwich. A knocking sounded at his door and he swallowed again.

"Come in." He called, warily. The door opened to reveal Hermione.

"Nico." She squealed in surprise, blushing.

"Did you not expect to find me here?" He asked, slightly confused. It was his room after all, where else would he be. She glanced at his hands.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted you in the middle of eating." Hermione apologized, "I've just been checking to see if you were here, you missed three days of lessons."

"Wait, you mean this room has been here the whole time?" Nico asked.

"Yes." Hermione answered, seemingly confused by his disgruntlement. Dumbledore knew somehow, that Nico would end up in Gryffindor. That old man would have to be watched.

"It's nothing." Nico told her absently. Hermione cleared her throat

"Well, I got some mail for you, from someone named Percy." She said, holding out a letter. Nico took it, placing the sandwich back on the plate.

"Thanks." He told her, looking up. He broke the seal and opened the envelope. It was Percy's handwriting alright. He squinted at it, trying to make the letters stay in order.

"Do you have a reading disorder?" Hermione asked curiously. Nico froze.

"It's not really any of your business." He replied tartly. Either she was completely ignorant, or just ignoring him, because she didn't leave.

"If you do you should let the teachers know." She insisted. Is she completely insensitive? Nico wondered, fuming.

"I can handle it." He said, putting enough snap into his voice to get even a thickheaded witch or wizard to notice. She stepped back, looking straight into his eyes.

"I-I've got to go." She muttered hurriedly, exiting and shutting the door. Nico sighed and sat down on his bed, picking up the abandoned sandwich and Percy's letter. After struggling for half an hour, he managed to finish it. His cousin's handwriting was torture to try and read.

Nico,

Chiron said you're off on a mission somewhere. If it's sunny, I'm totally jealous, the weather here has been doom and gloom ever since some corporate big shot offended Uncle. Chiron also said to be discreet about contacting you, so I asked Annabeth, and she said it means secretive, and then something about context. Anyways, I hope you're not, like, mortally injured or something. If you need any back up, just call, we'll be at camp most of the year because, well, I'd rather not talk about it. Let's just say you're soo lucky you got out of the clean up.

Yours truly,

Percy

By then he had finished the sandwiches and despite having slept for days, he was tired. He lay down and closed his eyes, letting his mind relax and drift off to dreamland. Literally. He opened his eyes and he was back in the underworld. Only, he wasn't alone this time. Lord Voldemort was standing next to him.

"You are exceedingly hard to pin." The nose-less figure sneered, "But I've got you now." Voldemort advanced and Nico scrambled back, a shot of pain coming from his ankle. It was still damaged then, possibly broken. He couldn't run, and there would be no one here to hear his cry of help. Not that he would ever admit defeat. Voldemort was approaching him, when something grabbed his arms and yanked him up. He gasped in surprise and instinctively struggled as he was lifted away by an unseen rescuer. He craned his head to look, and saw a seventeen year old boy, who looked a lot like an older version of him. Except, he had large, black, raven like wings which were flapping, carrying them through the darkness.

"Who are you?" Nico asked, his hair being blown around, "And where am I?" The boy shouldn't have been able to hear him over the howling of the wind created by his passage, but apparently he did.

"Someone and somewhere I think you already know." He replied, smiling slightly. They landed a moment later, the teen sitting Nico on a boulder.

"You didn't answer my question." Nico protested, crossing his arms. The winged boy looked to Nico, he smiled sadly.

"It's time for you to wake up. You should know something though, in case you end up back here again. How about this? I'm Amar, and this is the dreamscape." He answered. He leaned forward, and tapped Nico on the head.

"That doesn't tell me any-" Nico started, but with a floating feeling, and a pop, he opened his eyes and was in the real world. Or rather the wizarding one.

(1)- I don't know if Nico likes ham or not, so I'm taking some poetic license here.


	8. Chapter 8: Threats and Eavesdropping

Nico drifted up through the haze of sleep and opened his eyes to be blinded by the sun. Yawning, he sat up and blinked at the clock. Classes started in twenty minutes! He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, hurriedly standing up. Changing robes and running a comb through his hair, he deemed himself presentable and left his room, almost running downstairs and out of the common room. Judging by the lack of people, everyone else was already at breakfast. Finally reaching the dining hall, he scarfed down some food and ran back upstairs to get his supplies, earning some strange looks from the students and staff who were already prepared and making their way calmly and leisurely to their assigned places to be. Even rushing, he arrived panting at his first class of the day, Potions, moments before the bell rang. Silently cursing himself for not setting an alarm, he filed into the dungeon with the rest of the second year Gryffindors and Slytherins.

Having missed three days of school, he took the only empty seat available, which happened to be next to the three Slytherin girls he met on the train. The one called Sophia stuck her nose up and looked away, while the other two were blatantly ignoring him. He blinked in surprise and confusion. Had something happened during the three days he had missed? The Professor, Snape he thought he heard someone say, took roll, and afterwards smirked.

"So Mr. DiAngelo has finally decided to favor us with his presence." Snape said, his voice oozing contempt. Nico shrank back into his seat, fighting the urge to lash back verbally, as laughter swept through the green clad Slytherins. He wasn't supposed to blow his cover, so he couldn't afford to draw attention to himself. Didn't mean he had to like it, though. Sophia smirked openly.

"So class." He started abruptly, "Today I'm having you start Gilant's Potion of Misery1. This is a complex potion that you will be tested on in the finals, and I do not expect any of you to do even remotely close to well on the first try." He said boredly, flicking his wand and making the instructions appeared on the blackboard. Nico squinted up at them and cursed. A lesson later, Snape walked around, making dismissive remarks on some potions, and completely passing over others. He reached Nico and his lip curled.

"Did you read the board at all Mr. DiAngelo?" He questioned, sounding delighted to find fault with Nico's potion.

"I tried." Nico answered truthfully. Snape smirked evilly.

"Can you not read English Mr. DiAngelo?" Snape asked, contempt fully. Nico looked down into his cauldron full of what looked like tar, blushing embarrassedly. Oh, how he would love to sick a hellhound or two on him. Or maybe a ghost, there were plenty around the castle.

"Not exactly." He mumbled. Snape smirked even more and moved on. Sophia and Vivi gawked at him, but Rose looked away. He reached Sophia's cauldron and looked in.

"Excellent progress Miss Vaim, ten points to Slytherin." Snape praised her, and she preened and smirked at Nico. He felt a spike of anger and her potion bubbled up, splashing all of them, including was a moment of silence before the three girls shrieked and Nico shrank down into his stool. Then he felt… cheerful, oddly and inexplicably cheerful. Snape flicked his wand and the potion vanished.

"Girls, back the hospital wing. Mr. DiAngelo, fifty points from Gryffindor." He sneered, and continued his rounds. Nico didn't really care, about the points lost, or about the fact that Snape had automatically assumed it was him at fault, or even how he hadn't sent Nico to the hospital wing in spite of the fact that he had been splashed too. In fact, Nico was humming lazily. He didn't hum, never. He would rather join his father's court then be seen committing such a carelessly cheerful action. Sophia must have messed up the misery potion, because it was having the opposite effect on him. He didn't remember being this cheerful since before Bianca died. The memory made him flinch and he was brought back to reality just as the bell rang. He packed up and headed out to Transfiguration. He thought he felt Snape's stare burning a hole in his back, even as he walked out of the door, and he resolved to watch out. Maybe there were monsters in the wizard world.

Transfiguration wasn't that bad, except instead of turning his mouse blue, he turned it into a porcupine. After a scolding from Professor McGonnagal, he headed to herbology. There, they filed into the greenhouse. They were learning the proper way to care for carnivorous daisies when a supposedly harmless vine tried to strangle Nico. Professor Sprout helped him to the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey gave him a glare and made him drink a disgusting tasting potion.

He could still taste it on the way out, but at least he was sent on his way when lunch started. He sat down at the Gryffindor table, unfortunately next to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They stopped talking and turned red the moment he sat down, giving him clue to what they had been discussing. Sighing, he took a small jar of fire out of his bag and set it on the table. He tossed some of his turkey in the fire and though "To Hades". Then he thought about the potion incident this morning, and smiling slightly, he added, "And Jenny."

The trio was giving him very odd looks, so he quickly screwed the lid back onto the jar and dug into his meal.

"So Nico, are you liking Hogwarts?" Ron asked, stuffing his face with a meat pie of some sort, and apparently deciding to ignore any questions he had about the fire.

"Aside from the terrible potions teacher, impossible transfiguration, and killer plants, then yes." Nico said. They looked at him curiously, as if not sure what to make of his statement, "Let's just say I had a normal day." Nico added, smirking slightly into his food. He finished his food quickly and left the awkward silence that followed. He walked outside onto the grounds and blinked in the sunlight. He must look out of place in the sunlight, dressed all in black. Like a shadow in the midst of a sun. Crossing the grounds quickly and praying that no one would see him, the forest was forbidden after all, he retreated into the shadow of the forest. Nico walked until he got to a point where he was fairly sure he wouldn't be seen from the castle and called out softly "Jenny?"

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he whirled around to see the young blonde girl in question grinning up at him.

"You called, my Prince?" She asked, her voice high pitched and scraping down his spine ever so slightly.

"Drop the title." Nico snapped. He liked having the powers, but when even the spirits that he was most familiar with still treated him with cold courtesy, it got a little annoying. Ah well, asking someone to explain the behavior of underworld inhabitants was like asking a mouse to explain why the moon circled the Earth. "And I've told you not to sneak up on me."

"If you called me here just to criticize I could get plenty of that back in the underworld." She commented dryly, folding her arms, bearing a slightly miffed expression that didn't fit well on the child-like face that she wore. Nico rolled his eyes.

"I had a dream about someplace called a dreamscape." He confessed, starting to pace. Jenny froze, staring off into the distance with something Nico would have called fear, if he didn't know that she was incapable of emotions. "Do you know someone called Amar?" Nico questioned further, feeling dread rising in the pit of his stomach. Jenny unfroze, practically radiating anger in that inhuman fashion that reminded him that despite all the time she spent with him, usually forced one of their parts, she really was a true servant of his father, and was accordingly dangerous.

"I'll be right back." She snarled, disappearing into the shadows. Nico stared after her for a moment.

"Way to be helpful!" He shouted into the now empty forest, his voice echoing back to him, making the shadows swirl in response to his frustration.

* * *

><p>Harry's POV (Don't do other POV's that often, I know)<p>

Harry was walking by the teacher's lounge when his scar started burning. Hissing in pain, he stopped and brought his hand to his scar. The door was open a crack, and when he looked in, the pain increased. He pushed the door open to see a small figure in a black, draping garment that resembled a dementor's robe standing threateningly next to Dumbledore.

"-And I swear old man, If the same thing happens to Nico, not a single soul will leave this castle alive ever again." They hissed in a cold, high-pitched voice that sent a chill down Harry's spine. He had no trouble believing that they would carry through on their threat, whoever they were. Then they backed up slightly and lowered their hood. Harry felt gut wrenching recognition as he saw the seemingly innocents child's face, as if a very old memory had resurfaced. Appearing not to notice him, she turned and backed into the shadows, disappearing.

Dumbledore turned and looked at Harry, who backed up, afraid of being reprimanded for eavesdropping. Dumbledore sighed instead, looking more weary than angry.

"That was not meant for young eyes Harry." Dumbledore sighed sadly.

"Professor, who was that?" Harry asked,his voice quivering a little.

"A very old acquaintance." Dumbledore replied, weakly smiling as if there was an inside joke.

"What did she mean, 'if the same thing happens to Nico?' Nico DiAngelo?" Harry asked trying to piece it all together, but he didn't have enough pieces. Dumbledore shook his head sadly.

"Some sacrifices must be made. Unfortunately I have no trouble believing that our friend will make good on her word." He frowned.

"What sacrifices?" Harry asked, now thoroughly confused.

"Some things are best left alone." Dumbledore advised him. Thoroughly confused, Harry walked away, turning over what he had heard in his mind, and wondering if this was a danger not even Dumbledore could protect them from.

* * *

><p>Nico's POV that evening in the common rooms<p>

Nico collapsed into the common room chair. Double Charms hadn't been too bad, but it still puzzled him how it worked, he wasn't a wizard, he was a demigod. Flying lessons weren't as terrible as he expected. As soon as he was within a five foot radius of any broom though, it hit the floor. So he watched from the shade as his classmates whizzed around on broomsticks. He even made a ghostly servant bring him some iced tea while not one was looking. Eh, he might get chewed out later, but right then he didn't care.

All in all it was a nice afternoon, and currently he was pondering whether it was immoral to order underworldly minions to do his homework for him so that he could go explore the 'forbidden' forest. Really, that was like sticking an invitation on the place. Two redheads of maybe 16 or seventeen walked up to him, with an evil glint in their eyes. Ah yes, Fred and George. He had been warned to stay away from them.

"Hey Nico, want some sweets?" One of the twins asked, grinning. He narrowed his eyes, but accepted one, popping it into his mouth and chewing. After all, it was a wizard school, what could hurt him? He swallowed and looked oddly at the twins who were watching him with anticipation.

"Bit stale." He commented, and they walked away, disappointed. Deciding he should get to work on his homework, he stood up and stretched, heading up to his room. His door was ajar. Funny, he could have sworn that it was closed when he last left. Cautiously walking forward, he opened the door and stepped warily inside. Then the aura of death hit him. It was Harry's aura, masked by another, even stronger aura of death. It felt, oddly enough, slightly like Thantos.

Looking around more carefully, he noticed an odd rippling in the corner of his room that the feeling was emanating from. Looking harder he saw Harry was beneath some sort of invisibility blanket. Or cloak… Wait, could it possibly be the cloak Thantos had lost centuries ago to that clever mortal? That would explain a lot, no self-respecting deity would let themselves be stolen from by a non-magical human. Anyways, he pretended he couldn't see Harry, who had probably been searching his stuff. It angered him, but he didn't really have anything to give away his past.

Retrieving his homework, he noticed that his photo album had been left open. It was a relatively cheap little book with transparent plastic sleeves for pages. One of the pictures had been jammed hastily back into the sleeve. The album had been given to him by Annabeth, half filled with pictures. Only, now there was one missing. That made him more angry than anything, that they thought he wouldn't notice. He knew that album cover to cover, knew every picture, every caption written on the back. The missing one was the only one he had managed to convince Jenny to let her picture be taken, he and Percy wore those hideously orange camp t-shirts, and next to him, Jenny stood, looking out of place and a bit annoyed, but very amused at the shirt that Nico had unwillingly donned. He would find some way to get back at Harry, but not now. He would bide his time.

Collecting his supplies, he went back to the common room to work on his homework. It was relatively easy, since the textbooks were magic, they helped his dyslexia a lot, and it was at least more interesting than say, math. A ghost floated into the common room, spotted Nico, and then left, probably to tell it's friends all about him. Great, by morning the whole castle would know that they had the ghost king in residence. He briefly contemplated chasing it and swearing it to silence, but what would really be the point in that? Others would see him too, sooner or later. He finished his homework and went down to dinner with everyone else. The trio arrived late, sitting next to him. He wanted to move, but that would be rude and he was supposed to befriend them. Sighing, he dug into his tri-tip, pretending he couldn't hear them whisper about him, until Harry mentioned something of interest.

"-And it was so weird, It was just a little girl blonde girl, looked harmless to me, but Professor Dumbledore seemed almost scared of her." Harry was telling his friends. Nico listened in, his heart pounding.

"What did she say?" Ron asked, while Hermione just looked skeptical.

"She threatened to kill everyone in this school if something happened to Nico." Harry replied. It took all of Nico's self-control to continue feigning ignorance, and not to demand more information. Was he talking about Jenny? Was that what had happened after she stormed off? Curiosity settled in his stomach, along with a hint of dread and perverse excitement. Any threats that Jenny made came straight from his father, she was very rarely more than a mouthpiece or a baby-sitter. What could be worth slaughtering hundreds of innocents though? Surely his father didn't care that much about his well being?

"Well, I'll look into it." Hermione said doubtfully, "But are you sure you didn't imagine it?"

"Yeah I'm sure." Harry replied vehemently, Ron put his hands up in surrender.

"I believe you mate." Ron said meekly. Nico finished his dinner quickly and stood up. Harry was rummaging around in his pockets for something. Probably to give the stolen picture to his little bookworm friend.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked quickly.

"To talk to someone." Nico replied, heading out towards the forest. His thoughts were whirling as he walked, he didn't even notice anyone who tried to approach him as more than a momentary annoyance. He arrived and crossed his arms as a pure white fawn walked up, looking slightly guilty. He glared at her as she turned back into human form. He crossed his arms.

"Something you want to tell me?" He asked, his voice holding repressed emotion.

"No. Oh, Thantos was glad to hear that his cloak has been located." She replied, doing a scarily good job at feigning innocence.

"I meant about a certain confrontation you had after you stormed off earlier today." He prompted. She shifted, looking uneasy.

"So what I threatened Dumbledore? The boss told me to use any measures necessary to make sure that you come to no harm in this world." She explained, although Nico got the feeling there was something she wasn't telling him. There was always something she wasn't telling him.

"Okay, why did you freak out when I mentioned Amar and the dreamscape?" He questioned. Jenny sighed, sounding tired, and for once, like the hundreds of years old that she was.

"A long time ago I… I made a mistake. I trusted wizards, and bad things happened." She said haltingly, carefully.

"What mist-"

"Look, I can't tell you anything else, and I have a job to do." She cut him off, melting into the shadows. Nico stomped in frustration. Would no one tell him anything? The only people he ever learned anything from he had to spy on! In a fit of anger, he shadow travelled back to his room to see Harry rummaging through his stuff. Again. Once could be called reasonable paranoia. Twice was just rude.

"What are you doing?" He asked, and Harry jumped, pulling out his wand.

(1)- No clue if this is a real potion or not.


	9. Chapter 9: Sorry About This

It's dead, Jim!

I really am very sorry for getting your hopes up, but the muse for this story has left. I'm afraid it's going on permanant hiatus. Thank you, all of you. You've all been wonderful, and the next time I post something I'll make sure I have it all planned out ahead of time.


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